Workshops by KJP and Friends

Welcome and listed are a selection of conference and workshops presentations available. Karen and her team have a solid background and experience in performing, presenting and facilitating at Special Events through out North America. Included in Karen's highlights of presentations is;

  • New Zealand, 1990. WIPCE, World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education, Performer.
  • Mexico City, Mexico, 1992, World Gathering of Indigenous, marking 500 years
  • Australia, Sydney, 1999. National Aboriginal Dance Conference, Presenter for Panel Discussion: On Traditional Knowledge and Copyright.
  • Morley, Alberta, 2002. WIPCE, World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education, Moderator.


As well, she participated on panel discussions at Academic conferences and Aboriginal Expression artistic venues.

1. Subject: Education and Parenting, Title: Do We Speak Different Languages?

How often do we say to students or our children, "Are you listening?" We repeat directives, only to be met with the deer in the headlight look. This workshop will review approaches to speak to students/children, with body and verbal language. What does your body language say to your students/children? Residential school habits, teaching and learning remain a generational issue to current day. The discipline of Aboriginal Traditional Education Knowledge (TEK) along with Karen's training in traditional yoga brings a renewed approach to classroom teaching and parenting communication.
2. Subject: Work Environment and Staffing issues, Title: Getting on the Same Page

Teamwork is the heart and soul of company, organization, family or relationship. Collectives consist of individuals; and individual drive, skills and motivation are crucial to the success of the collective. But it's the spirit of teamwork that breathes life and creativity into your organization. After consulting with workshop team leaders and depending on the current situation, your workshop may include
  • Team building exercises
  • Interactive training
  • Indigenous worldview introductions of kinship/office roles and responsibilities.
  • Facilitated group discussion
...Or all of the above. Workshops range from half day sessions to multiple day ongoing training, pending needs and objectives of the collective. Focus of the sessions is defining roles and responsibilities. In First Nations communities, the administration, elected officials and band community members role and responsibilities are challenging at the best of times, when under the operation and administration within an Indian and Northern Affairs Band office.
3. Subject: The Jingle Dress and its inter-tribal Transfer, Title: The Promise to the Nokomis

A story based on a personal experience that happened in Whitefish Bay, Lake of the Woods region of Northern Ontario almost twenty years ago. It is about the official transfer of the Jingle Dress dance to other tribal nations beyond the Anishinaabe people. In 2004 I directed and choreographed THE PROMISE as a theatre dance piece, produced by Debajehmujig Theatre (www.debaj.ca).It is almost an hour long dance piece that included contemporary movement to compliment Women's pow-wow dances'.
4. Subject: History of the Prairie Chicken Dance, Title: Blackfoot Prairie Chicken Dance with Karen J. Pheasant and Treffrey Deerfoot.

In this workshop, Karen and Treffrey Deerfoot (Siksika Nation) will share the transfer story of the Blackfoot Prairie Chicken dance. Karen is honoured to have earned the rights to tell from the Blackfoot Confederacy from Treffrey, as well the late Ed Calfrobe's grandson, Marvin Calfrobe. In part, the stories were told to Karen many years ago, from the legendary late Alex Scalplock and the songs from the late Daniel Weasel Moccasin and Charles Bullshield; when she lived in Blackfoot territory, Southern Alberta. Also, an invitation was extended to the late Alex's son, as well as Marvin Calfrobe and Treffrey Deerfoot (Yellow Old Women) and his son to share the dance, story and rites to the Prairie Chicken Dance at the 2003 Wikwemikong Cultural Festival. During this time, the factual significance of the dance, its origins, spiritual importance and the earning of the rites to practice and/or tell the story were shared by these Prairie Chicken dance knowledge keepers.
5. Subject: Aboriginal Movement/Dance, Title: Culturally Creative, NIsh Style

This workshop draws on Karen's background of working in a contemporary dance studio, her accomplished Pow-wow dance style and balanced with her certified Yoga training. These sessions involve a combined approach to physical fitness and edge of artistic creativity. An expectation of participants is to come with exercise wear and an open mind. Movement is based on the basic level of pow-wow dance and gentle aerobic movement. All class music is based on rhythm, used to gain body interpretation to music, with both contemporary pop tunes and pow-wow music.